Fish-joint.



A. J. & H` E. JOHNSEN.

FISH JOINT.`

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 30, |916.

- 1,227,271 Patented May 22,1917.

Hjffec/.Jamesbhnsen Henry Enge/b/l/'w nvenofzs by ALFRED JAMES JOHNSEN, OF ILLOVO RIVER, AND HENRY` E. JOI-INSELN, OF DURBAN, NATAL, SOUTH AFRICA.

FISH-JOINT."

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented May 22, 1917.

Application med June so, 191e. serial No. 106,951.

.710 all whom t may concern.' j

Be it known that we, ALFRED JAMES JoHNsEN, of Illovo River, Natal, Union of South Africa, and HENRY ENGEBRETH JOHN- snN, of 136 Venice road, Durban, Natal, aforesaid, both subjects of the King of Great Britain, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Fish-Joints, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to joints for railway rails and the like, and it comprises an improved joint'of the Afishplate type wherein projections on the fishplate pass through slots in the rail webs and are lockedon the far side thereof by a longitudinally movable member. The invention is applicable not only to fishplates for rails but also to lishplates used in joining girders. of similar section to that of rails.

According to this invention the projections on the fishplate which pass through slots in the rail webs of both rails to be joined, are substantial projections adapted to rest on the bases of the rails at the far side, and are' locked by a single tapering-key or bar which engages vonly between inclined surfaces at the top of the proj ections-and the underside of the heads of bothrails. The lishplate then has to engage only at three principal points as seen in section, viz. the rail base and the rail head on the one side, and the rail base on the other side of the rail section, while the tapering key serves to press the fishplate yand its projections into engagement at all these points, by directlyy pressing the projections down upon the rail bases, and at the same time drawing up the lishplate toward the rail webs with a wedging action, so that on thel insertion side it will be fully in contact with the rail bases and rail heads. Hence, a tight and substantial joint is made, and if it required to be tightened after wearing for any length of time, the tightening can be effected by driving in the tapering keya little farther. The fishplate may be extended upwardly in a known manner so as to assist in carrying. the wheels of trains over the joint between,

the rails. The construction for a girder joint is identical in principle with that for a rail joint, as will be apparent but no upto lie at the outside of the rail.

ward extension of 1s requlred'.

In the accompanying draw1ngs1- f the fishplate at the joint Figure l is a side elevation of a joint be tween two rails; 1

Fig. 2 shows a cross section on the line A-B of Fig. l;

Fig.` 3 shows an end view of the joint, with the rail only in section, showing a wheel passing over the center' of the joint;

Fig.V l is a side elevation similar to Fig. l.,

showing a girder joint; ande Fig.v jshowsa cross-section thereof on the lineC-D.V r Y Y Y j Referring first tov Figs. l', 2 and 3, the rails shown are ofa usual form, with a head portion a and a foot portion b, and a web c between the same. The fishplate may be made as a forging, and has'a portion Z intended l The portion d of the fshplate may be of any suitable form, the form shown being similar to one which is already known in connection with rail joints having projections passing through rail webs; that `is to say ythe forging has an upward extension e which lies above the rail joint at the gap between the 4 rail ends, and is intended to carry the wheels rail bases or feet respectively, and it has two projections 7c adapted to pass through slots cut through the rail webs c, as shown at Z, Fig. l, and asV seen in section in Fig. 2. The projections lc are shaped so as to rest on the foot portion b, of the rails, as seen at fm in Figs. 2 and 3, and their upper surfaces are inwardly inclined as shown. A tapering key fn. is adapted to be driven into the gap between the top of the projections 7c and the underside of the rail heads @,fin order to lock the same as shown. It will be appar ent from Figs. 2 and 3 that the key n has a girders at the far side.

it is driven in, tends to draw the projections Zo as far as possible through the slots at Z in the rail webs, thus insuring effective contact at the surfaces g, t and m. The key itself forms a support between the rail heads and the projections 7c, so that the rail heads are very effectively supported at the places where the .slots Z are formed in the web. The upper surfaces of the projections Zt are tapered also longitudinally, so that the taper key n, as it is driven in from the lefthand side in Fig. l, will wedge up more and more tightly between the projections 7c and` the rail heads a. The taper is slight and can scarcely be seen in the drawing. In practice it may be even less than is shown in the drawing. Vhen the key n has been driven inV tightly, its pointed end is bent over as seen at 0 in Fig. 1, in order to prevent loosening thereof, due for'instance to movement between the parts when the rails expand and contract. The slots at Z are made long enough to allow for such eXpansion and contraction, and the gap between the rail ends is also sufficient for this purpose. The fishplate may have strengthening ribs formed on it between the head and base at intervals, as indicated at 29 in Figs. 2 and 3, and in dotted lines in Fig. 1.

As applied to girders of Iesection, the joint may be made substantially like that for railway rails, but there is no necessity for a projecting head portion. Figs. 4 and 5 show a suitable construction, the parts being lettered to correspond with Figs. 1, 2 and 3. The girder ends are shown in Fig. 4E as abutting closely one against another.

In each case the method of fitting the parts together is as follows.v The rail or girder ends are placed so as to butt together or at the desired distance apart at their ends. The tishplate or forging is then applied to the outer side of the rails, or to either face of the girders, and it is tilted to the extent required to permit the projecting portions 7c to be passed through the slots at Z in both rails or girders, and then to lie upon the bases or feet of the rails or In the rail joint, when the parts are drawn up by the key n, the iishplate does not press against the rail webs, but is hollowed out asis usual on the inner face'so as to make sure that the bearing surfaces are on the rail heads and bases. In the girder joint however, this is not necessary; in the construction accord- V ing to Fig. 5 the iishplate must tilt so1newhat in going into position, and the head of the ishplate is out down as is necessary in order to enable it to pass under the girder heads in all positions during insertion and removal.

Having thus described our invention what we claim as 'new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is 1. In a fish jointv thecombination with shplate tightly against the rail faces at the other side of the web.

2. A fish joint device comprising a lishplate with a plurality of projections thereon each adapted to pass through a slot in the web of one of the elements to be joined, said fishplate having head and basev portions adapted to bear internally against the head and base portions of the elements to be joined, and said projections having base portions adapted to rest upon the bases of the elements to be joined beyond the webs thereof, and a rtaper key of wedge-shaped section adapted to interlock between the heads of said projections and the heads of the elements to be joined.

3. In a lish joint for rails, the combina` tion with the two rail ends to be joined, each having a slot in its webportion, of a fishplate having twoprojections Vadapted to pass 4through said slots, said lishplate having head and base portions adapted to bear against the heads 'and bases of said rail ends internally, and an extension lying above the rail heads at the joint, and said projections having` foot portions adapted to rest on the rail bases beyond the webs', while their top surfaces form together lwith the under sides of theV rail heads a wedge# shaped groove, and of atapered and wedgeshaped key member adapted to lit'between the tops of said projections and the' rail heads, and to draw the bearing surfaces between the fishplates and their projections into close contact simultaneously with the rail heads and rail bases. In witness whereof, we have hereunto signed our names this-1st day of December, 1916.

ALFRED JAMES JOHNSEN. HENRY E. JOI-INSEN.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for ve cents each, by addressing the' Commissioner of Patents Washington, D. C. 

